saddam hussein executed

saddam hussein was executed by hanging in baghdad around 6 a.m. local time saturday (10 p.m. et friday). was this a victory in the war against terror? hardly. was this a triumph of justice? that's debatable. was this the much needed boost for human rights? i sort of doubt it.

it is certainly underwhelming, considering how much brutality this man caused over the last couple of decades, the circus that was his trial, and the seeming railroading to a quick execution. of course, even if the trial wasn't the most even-handed affair, there really was no way saddam would ever get a fair trial, because everyone knew him to be evil and guilty, even though he technically hadn't been taken to trial at the time or had been convicted of anything, which technically made him innocent according to western laws, even though everyone knew he was guilty, but he's not until a court finds him so, which they finally did in a trial that got ridiculously out of hand, if you follow where i'm going with this.

perhaps instead of having a perfect trial from a new judiciary, what was more important was the appearance of due process, because who are we kidding? it was all just a formality anyway. saddam was dead the moment the first american soldier set foot in iraq. it was only a matter of time. not if, but when and how.

i suppose many do rejoyce and consider saddam to have gotten better than he deserved, but at the same time, what now? he's dead. soon to be bones. where does that leave the iraqi people? what about the troops fighting there? the rest of the world?

say what you want about saddam (he's a monster for sure), but he managed to keep the disputing factions relatively under control during his reign because, well, he scared the shit out of everyone. he was basically the linchpin in iraq, and once removed, that whole complicated political and religious system sort of came unravelled which leaves iraq in civil war. is the world better off without saddam? probably. was he a necessary evil though? maybe. the less than satisfying nature of his death sort of makes you wonder, doesn't it?

(source)